CHERYL and her One Direction boyfriend Liam Payne have announced the birth of their baby son.

The 33-year-old singer and her hunky beau had kept the rumour mill grinding in the months leading up to the birth, however the big news was finally unveiled last night when Liam posted a heart-melting pic on Instagram.

Cheryl and Liam wanted to spend some time with their son prior to letting the world in on the news, and leaked legal documents for the pair revealed that they would announce the news of their baby’s birth ‘in their own time’.

The pop star finally went public with her pregnancy as part of a stunning L’Oreal photoshoot shoot in January when it was believed she was around seven or eight months pregnant.

How long have Cheryl and Liam been dating and what’s their age gap?

Cheryl and Liam first met when a young wannabe popstar Liam auditioned for her on The X Factor back in 2009.

He then went on to mega stardom thanks to his time in One Direction.

The pair got together while Cheryl was going through her divorce to second husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini at the beginning of 2016, and made their red carpet debut in May.

Cheryl, 33, showed who wears the trousers in their relationship as she opted for a head turning sequinned jumpsuit, Liam, 23, looked dapper in a black tie as he posed alongside his girlfriend.

Despite their ten-year age difference they looked completely infatuated with each other, and made no secret of their romance since.

Liam was spotted paying a sweet tribute to his pregnant girlfriend - by getting a tattoo of her eye on his arm.

Spotting the tattoo on his left arm, a fan account dedicated to the couple posted: “First he brought the sparkle back to her eyes, then he got it tattooed”

As fans commented replied to the tweet they wondered whether the inking had been done by renowned LA-based tattoo artist, Nikko Hurtado, who did Liam’s pocket watch tattoo.

The especially eagle-eyed among them working out the design was based on her eye from the photo shoot from her 2009 debut album Three Words.

When was Cheryl and Liam's baby born?

Cheryl's legion of fans first began speculating that Cheryl had given birth in late February after believing that they had calculated her due date to be mid-February and on March 2 Liam fuelled rumours with a cryptic tweet about having to "creep around and stay quiet in the morning".

Days later Cheryl did the same by "liking her pregnant friend’s bare bump photo" but it was all a false alarm as it was announced that Cheryl and Liam became parents on Wednesday March 22.

Cheryl and the baby are both doing well and the new parent are said to be "over the moon".

What will Cheryl and Liam Payne call their baby boy?

Back in 2012, Cheryl admitted that she'd had a favourite name for years - and, if she was ever expecting a boy, would like to call him Alfie.

Liam has also spoken about his preference in baby names in the past - and his chosen name is a neutral one, which could be for a boy or girl.

In a radio interview, the singer said: "I like the name Taylor. Taylor's pretty neutral for a boy or a girl.

“That’s what I’m going to call my first child if I had children.”

Compared to the more exotic baby names to have been bestowed on celebrity offspring recently, Alfie and Taylor seem pretty normal.

Liam and Cheryl have been together for over a year. Getty Images

Son direction! Cheryl, 33, and 1D star Liam Payne, 23, reveal their 'beautiful, healthy baby boy' after keeping his birth a secret for THREE DAYS following months of mystery over her pregnancy

She is one of Britain's biggest stars but managed to keep her pregnancy hidden for an astonishing eight months. And now it appears Cheryl has gone one better – keeping the birth of her first child a secret, too.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the former X Factor judge had a boy last week in a private ward at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, with her partner, One Direction singer Liam Payne, at her side.

The 33-year-old kept fans guessing for months before confirming her pregnancy in the most public way – at a L'Oreal photoshoot, in which she posed in a close-fitting black dress and cradled her bump.

Proud new father Liam shared the same photo with his Instagram followers.

The 23-year-old wrote: 'My close friends and family know there are very few times when I'm left speechless...wow!'I'm incredibly happy to welcome our new baby boy into the world, it's a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life and my favourite memory I have so far.

'I'm completely in awe of his incredible mother and how she has been the whole way through this, she's really made my dreams come true.

'We haven't named him yet but he's already capturing hearts including mine. I feel very blessed.'Happy Mother's Day everyone!'

Friends said at the time that she had kept the pregnancy a secret because she didn't want to 'jinx her happiness' after years of bad luck in relationships.

Cheryl first spoke of her desire to be a mother back in 2012, telling GQ magazine: 'I love kids, I'm obsessed with babies. I know that's what I was put on the Earth to do – to be a mother.'

And she revealed that she already had a favourite boy's name lined up: Alfie.

Speculation that the singer had already birth grew last week after her fans pointed to strange activity on her Instagram account. The former Girls Aloud singer 'liked' several friends' baby bump photos, and asked for tips on childcare from her chum Kourtney Kardashian.

The gushing post online read: 'On Wednesday 22nd March Liam and I became parents to an incredibly beautiful, healthy baby boy, weighing 7lb 9 and looking like a dream.

'Although he still doesn't have a name he is already stealing hearts. We are all madly in love and overwhelmingly happy with our little arrival. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers around the world. A day that now has a different meaning to me forever.'

Liam's mother Karen also shared her happiness on Instagram.

She wrote: 'Finally I can boast that I am a grandmother! The happiest grandmother! I'm very proud of my children. Everything I've been doing lately is crying because I'm very happy, now I have the most beautiful grandson in the world!'

And his sister Nicola tweeted: 'What a lovely day today has been!!! I honestly didn't know love at first sight until today. Xx'

Liam, 23, also shared a cryptic tweet that read: 'Creep around and stay quiet in the morning' – taken by fans as a sign there was a baby at home.

The couple first met in 2009 when Liam, then a wannabe pop star, auditioned on The X Factor.They started dating early last year, when Cheryl was in the process of divorcing her second husband, the French restaurateur Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini.

Baby-faced Liam was 14 when he first auditioned for the show but he returned as a solo artist in 2010 only to be partnered with Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson, who went on to become global boyband One Direction.

They went public with their romance in February, just weeks after Cheryl announced the split from second husband.But the genetically-blessed twosome are said to have started dating in secret as early as December 2015.

Cheryl first showed off her bump before Christmas when she attended the Fayre of St. James Christmas Concert in London in November. They have since publicly expressed their happiness in their new relationship, with Cheryl telling Fabulous magazine at the end of last year that she was in a 'very good time in my life'.

Liam changed his Twitter bio to read that he was the happiest man alive.

They moved in together in April 2016, first sharing Liam's LA mansion and now have a place together in Surrey. Rumours had been flying for months as she hid what seemed to be a bump at several events, including a signing where she sat behind a table even when taking photos with fans.

In September last year, Cheryl's mother was spotted shopping at Mothercare and appeared to be buying pillows designed for expectant mothers.

In October last year, the couple went out for dinner at Nobu and Cheryl was snapped with a small bump appearing to be hiding underneath her camel dress and coat. She declined to comment on the rumours on multiple occasions. Fans were quick to send their good wishes to the happy couple on Twitter and praised their decision to delay announcing the birth for a few days.

According to the Sun, the Girls Aloud star gave birth in one of the wards at the 16-bed Kensington Wing of the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where new mothers can have one-to-one midwifery care and choose a post-natal meal from a menu including smoked salmon and £75 champagne.

Cheryl, born Tweedy, became known as Cheryl Cole after marrying footballer Ashley Cole, who she was wed to for three and a half years.

She then dated professional dancer Derek who she worked with in one of her videos, and although she never confirmed the relationship, he did after it ended.

Longer term love was Tre Holloway, an American dancer who she was with between 2012 and 2013. It was after that relationship ended that she met Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini who she married after a three month whirlwind romance.

But her marriage lasted just 18 months and the pair were granted a divorce in 14 seconds in January 2016. Fans were shocked by her thin appearance as the marriage broke down, and lawyers appeared to confirm the singer had been physically affected in divorce papers, which cited that the respondant's behaviour caused 'stress and weight loss'.

Since the divorce, Cheryl has managed to drop her surname, appearing only by her first name on an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? on the BBC.

Cheryl announces birth of first child with Liam Payne on Mother's Day

The pop star and former X Factor judge Cheryl has given birth to a baby boy.

The 33-year-old singer said on her Instagram page that she and One Direction's Liam Payne had welcomed the new arrival on Wednesday.

A photo showed Liam cradling an infant with dark hair.

The caption below the picture read: "On Wednesday 22nd March Liam and I became parents to an incredibly beautiful, healthy baby boy, weighing 7lb 9 and looking like a dream.

"Although he still doesn't have a name he is already stealing hearts."

She added: "We are all madly in love and overwhelmingly happy with our little arrival.

"Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers around the world.

"A day that now has a different meaning to me forever."

Liam, 23, posted the same photo on his Instagram account, writing: "My close friends and family know there are very few times when I'm left speechless...wow!

"I'm incredibly happy to welcome our new baby boy into the world, it's a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life and my favourite memory I have so far."

He added: "I'm completely in awe of his incredible mother and how she has been the whole way through this, she's really made my dreams come true.

"We haven't named him yet but he's already capturing hearts including mine.

"I feel very blessed.

"Happy Mother's Day everyone!"

Cheryl's former Girls Aloud bandmate Nadine Coyle was among those offering congratulations.

She tweeted: "Congratulations @cherylofficial I am so so happy for you & your precious little boy & family! Sending you loads of love!"